Gili Shoval

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue book cover

***Spoilers ahead***

For those who like a book with mesmerizing fantasy, heart-wrenching romance, and impeccable writing, step into the enchanting, urban-fantasy world created by author V.E. Schwab, where a young woman who lives in the 16th century makes a deal with the devil that will change her life forever.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue centers around a young woman in 17th-century France named Adeline. All she has ever wanted is to be free from the constrictive lifestyle of women in her time. So, when she is forced to marry a man she barely knows, she feels as though she is in a nightmare. Overcome with dread, she runs from her home right before her wedding and wanders into the woods. There, she prays to all the old and new gods, hoping one will answer her prayers—until one really does. But this god is not what she was expecting; he tricks her into a deal she will regret for all eternity. While she is gifted immortality, she is cursed so that everyone forgets her the instant they turn their back on her, making her life immensely difficult.

The story alternates between timelines, from her life in France when she is first discovering how to live with her curse, to her present life in Manhattan, New York, three hundred years later. The story picks up when she enters a bookstore and steals a book, not expecting the employees to remember her. However, when she comes back the next day, the employee from the day before sees her and claims he remembers what she did. But all she can focus on is the three words that escape his mouth: “I remember you.”

Reading this story was a thoroughly joyful experience, as  the writing is beautiful and poetic, the setting is vivid, and the story is thrilling. The author does a great job of making you sympathize with Adeline’s hardships. As such, this book repeatedly breaks your heart every time she makes a new friend who forgets her all over again.

One complaint I do have is the slow pace for 75% of the book. The beginning focuses mainly on how Adeline has been living for the past 300 years, and at times, the pages and pages explaining delaying the plot nearly put me to sleep. The story only picks up when she meets someone who remembers her, yet that doesn’t happen until around the 200-page mark. But even that can be overlooked, since the gradual speeding up of the pace might symbolize how her life was slow and uneventful at first, but as she nears the climax of her story, everything becomes more thrilling and exhilarating.

Lastly, the ending of the novel left me in awe, cementing this book as one of the most unforgettable stories I have ever read. Schwab masterfully weaves themes of love, identity, and the lengths we go to be remembered, creating a story that lingers long after the final page. Beautifully written and deeply emotional, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a book that stays with me—one I will passionately recommend to anyone looking for a story that is both haunting and breathtaking.